Zegras scores ‘Michigan’ goal in Ducks loss to Kraken

ANAHEIM – Trevor Zegras scored "The Michigan" style goal for the Anaheim Ducks in a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken at Honda Center on Saturday.

Zegras, who missed the previous 20 games with a lower-body injury, skated behind the net and scooped the puck up to his left, scoring a lacrosse-style shot over Kraken goalie Joey Daccord’s right shoulder to cut the lead to 3-2 at 14:01 of the third period. It was the third time Zegras has scored such a goal; he had one against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 27, 2022, and another less than three months later against the Arizona Coyotes on April 1, 2022.

"Kind of just black out for a couple seconds and, the next thing you know, it's in," Zegras said of his goal.

Vince Dunn had a goal and two assists, Tomas Tatar had a goal and an assist, and Matty Beniers had two assists for the Kraken (12-14-9), who extended their point streak to a season-best six games (4-0-2). Daccord made 32 saves.

"A lot of things went my way," Dunn said. "Just tried to be on the right side of things, and guys played really well as a group to make the plays happen."

Frank Vatrano scored, and Lukas Dostal made 19 saves for the Ducks (12-21-0), who are 3-15-0 in their past 18 games.  

"We're not a gifted goal-scoring team, so we've got to adopt a mentality that we're going to have a high shot volume," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. "I thought we played well enough to get more than two goals."    

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored a wrist shot from the right circle on the power play to give the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 13:26 of the first period.

Dunn assisted on the goal to become the first Seattle player to record 100 assists with the team.

"I just try to take every opportunity that's been given to me in this organization, and they've given me a lot," Dunn said. "It's a nice milestone for me."

Dunn made it 2-0 at 16:24 when he finished a 3-on-2 rush with a tap-in off a centering pass from Beniers.

"It doesn't take much for me to put that one in," Dunn said. "Everyone does a lot of work there to get me the puck."

Vatrano’s power-play goal, a one-timer from the high slot, cut it to 2-1 at 6:18 of the second period.

The Ducks missed two chances to tie the score later in the period. Alex Killorn swept the puck wide of an open net and Mason McTavish was stopped on a breakaway.

"I thought we had a lot of scoring chances," Cronin said. "We missed open nets, we flubbed on shots. They play a fast-paced game where they get up the ice in a hurry and they exploited us on a couple odd-man rushes."

Tatar scored with a backhand from a tight angle to extend the lead to 3-1 at 8:25 of the third.

Tatar has two goals and two assists in four games since he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 16 for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

"It feels great to have that opportunity. Hockey feels fun again," Tatar said. "Looks like me, Matty and (Jordan Eberle) are building some chemistry and I'm having a lot of fun."

Zegras, who centerd the top line with Killorn and Troy Terry, said he picked up a lot of things while watching the previous 20 games from the press box.

"As soon as I come back, those things that I think that are important, or things that I pick up on, I usually try to get to that part of my game right away," Zegras said. "Easing back into it is tough because it's such a fast game."

NOTES: Seattle forward Yanni Gourde played in his 500th NHL game. ... Beniers has scored multiple points in all five games he's played against the Ducks (three goals, eight assists). ... Kraken forward Jared McCann returned after missing the 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday because of a lower-body injury and assisted on Bjorkstrand's goal. He has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games against the Ducks. ... Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas missed the game after sustaining a lower-body injury against Calgary on Thursday. He'll be reassessed after the holiday break. ... Anaheim forward Adam Henrique won 14 of 18 on faceoffs.